A Sweet Family

by Kimberly

            I interviewed my mother about how my aunt started a family. My aunt’s name is Winnie. She looks very beautiful and her long black hair is like waterfall. She is from China. She lived in a small village. She started to work when she was 18 years old. At that time, she went to Guangzhou, which is a big and modern city with her sister. They worked in a garment factory as a factory worker because they were poor. They chose to work on Guangzhou because there were no garment factories in their hometown. She felt happy and proud to be in Guangzhou because she earned money to support her family.

            In 1977, she met her husband in the garment factory. His name is Ken. He is so handsome and he is a intelligent cow. So, they became friends soon. During that time, they were together all the time. They worked together, they talked together, and they had dinner together. They both lived in the dormitory of the garment factory. They had similar experiences. They both left their family because of working. In addition, they are from the same hometown.

            Day after day, they fell in love. They are so sweet. On the first day of dating, they went to sidewalk food cart at night. They walked through the street and they held hands all night. Then, they sat on the beach, and stayed for whole night. They went back to the garment factory after they enjoyed sunrise. During the time they were dating, they were so romantic. They always took a walk after dinner. On weekends, they would ride bikes to travel Guangzhou or go to park and have a picnic. My aunt felt very excited and hopeful. She thinks this is one of her most unforgettable memories.

            In 1978, they got married. Because of poverty, they didn’t have a big wedding party. However, they felt happy about having a family. After marriage, they moved back to their family, which was located in a small town in Guangdong, China. In 1979, their first child was born. My aunt was happy because it was her first time to be a mother. In two years, they had their second child, which is a girl. They preferred to have a son because it was kind of traditional in China. In Chinese history, each family should have a son to continue their generation. However, some officials thought the population in China was huge. So they created a new law called Family Planning that required each family can only have two children. If your first child is a boy, then you cannot have another child.

            My aunt and her husband saw the posters and they were so depressed because my aunt was pregnant and they have two children already. They cannot give up the baby, so they decided to hide until the baby was born. It was unfair and cruel for newborns and their families because they had no choice. My aunt and her husband went to Guangzhou and hid in a small apartment. Uncle Ken went to work early and came back with food for my aunt in the evening. My aunt stayed at her room and sometimes she worked at home for the garment factory. However, she never left the house when she was hiding. My aunt was afraid that the police would find out her and force her to give up the baby. Also, it was difficult for her to pretend the baby is their first child because they were lying.

Luckily, they were so careful and they were safe. When it was expected date of confinement, my aunt went back to their hometown. Finally, the baby was born and he was a healthy boy. My aunt and her family was so grateful and excited. After that, the police found my aunt, but they couldn’t kill the baby. So the police arrested my aunt and Uncle Ken paid 300 dollars to the police. So they didn’t get in really trouble after the baby was born.

My aunt used the words, wonderful, happiness, and unforgettable to describe her life. She is now living in New York City, the United States with her husband and her son. Two of her daughters got married and she had 3 grandchildren. She feels it was a little bit hard, but wonderful when she recalls it. She believes no pain, no gain.